Refrigerator and door for the same

ABSTRACT

A door for a refrigerator having a reduced number of constituent elements, resulting in reduction in material and processing costs as well as manufacturing time is provided. The door may include a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface, a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel, a rear panel defining a rear surface, a pair of caps including upper and lower caps, and a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, lateral frames, rear panel and caps to one another. Each lateral frame comes into contact with two surfaces including a lateral surface and a rear surface of the reinforced glass panel to support the reinforced glass panel. Also, each lateral frame may be formed via extrusion molding of PVC synthetic resin and is painted via liquid painting.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2011-0107889, filed on Oct. 21, 2011 and KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2012-0051474, filed on May 15, 2012 in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a door for a refrigerator.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a refrigerator is an apparatus that includes a storagecompartment in which food is stored and a cold air supply device tosupply cold air into the storage compartment, thereby serving to keepfood fresh. The storage compartment has an open front side forentrance/exit of food, and a door is provided to open or close the openfront side.

Oftentimes, some doors have front panels formed of reinforced glass toimprove the outer appearance thereof. As shown in FIG. 9, a conventionaldoor may include a reinforced glass panel 1 defining a front surface, arear panel 2, a pair of lateral frames 3 and 4, and a pair ofintermediate members 5 and 6.

The reinforced glass panel 1 defines the front surface of the door andcontributes to improvement in aesthetic appreciation and decoration ofthe door. The reinforced glass panel 1 may be damaged or broken whencontinuously receiving shock due to nature of glass. The pair of lateralframes 3 and 4 is coupled to both lateral sides of the reinforced glasspanel 1 to prevent damage or breakage of the panel 1.

The pair of lateral frames 3 and 4 is generally formed via extrusionmolding of aluminum. Aluminum has good durability and is light.Intermediate members 5 and 6 formed of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene(ABS) material are interposed between the reinforced glass panel 1 andthe pair of lateral frames 3 and 4 to improve shock-resistance andwear-resistance of the door. The intermediate members 5 and 6 areinstalled to come into contact with a rear surface of the reinforcedglass panel 1.

The above-described conventional door may require the additionalintermediate members 5 and 6 because of high price of aluminum and forimprovement in shock-resistance and wear-resistance of the reinforcedglass panel 1. Moreover, aluminum having high thermal conductivity andelectric conductivity may deteriorate insulation performance of thestorage compartment, and may cause electric shock accidents upon groundfailure of a refrigerator. Additionally, the aluminum lateral frameshave complexity in view of manufacture because they may require forming,cutting, coating, painting processes, etc.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there isprovided a refrigerator having a door that achieves reduction inmaterial and processing costs.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there isprovided a refrigerator having a door that provides enhanced insulationeffects and eliminates the risk of electric shock even upon groundfailure of the refrigerator.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there isprovided a refrigerator having a door that achieves improvement insurface texture and color impression.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there isprovided a refrigerator includes a main body, a storage compartmentdefined in the main body, and a door pivotally rotatably mounted to themain body to open or close an open front side of the storagecompartment, wherein the door includes a reinforced glass panel defininga front surface of the door, a pair of lateral frames to support thereinforced glass panel, a rear panel defining a rear surface of thedoor, a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap, and a foamcharged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforcedglass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel and the pair ofcaps to one another, wherein each of the pair of lateral frames comesinto contact with two surfaces including a lateral surface and a rearsurface of the reinforced glass panel to support the reinforced glasspanel, and wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is formed viaextrusion molding of PVC synthetic resin and is painted via liquidpainting.

The pair of lateral frames may be subjected to natural drying aftercompletion of painting.

Each of the pair of lateral frames may include a first support portioncoming into contact with the lateral surface of the reinforced glasspanel and a second support portion coming into contact with the rearsurface of the reinforced glass panel.

The first support portion may include a first support surface cominginto contact with the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel, andthe second support portion may include a second support surface cominginto contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel.

The first support surface and the second support surface may be flat.

The first support portion may protrude farther forward than the secondsupport portion.

The first support portion may protrude farther than the second supportportion at least by a length of the lateral surface of the reinforcedglass panel, to prevent the lateral surface of the reinforced glasspanel from being exposed to the outside.

Each of the pair of lateral frames may take the form of a single part.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there isprovided a refrigerator includes a main body, a storage compartmentdefined in the main body, and a door pivotally rotatably mounted to themain body to open or close an open front side of the storagecompartment, wherein the door includes a reinforced glass panel defininga front surface of the door, a pair of lateral frames to support thereinforced glass panel, a rear panel defining a rear surface of thedoor, a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap, and a foamcharged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforcedglass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel and the pair ofcaps to one another, and wherein each of the pair of lateral frames isformed into a single part via extrusion molding of PVC synthetic resin.

Each of the pair of lateral frames may be painted via liquid painting.

Each of the pair of lateral frames may be subjected to natural dryingafter completion of painting.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there isprovided a manufacturing method of a door for a refrigerator includespreparing a reinforced glass panel, a rear panel, and a pair of caps,preparing a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glasspanel, provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the pair oflateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps, and foaming aninsulating material into an interior space of the door to fix thereinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, andthe pair of caps, wherein the preparation of the pair of lateral framesincludes forming a pair of extruded lateral frame articles via extrusionmolding of PVC synthetic resin, painting the pair of extruded lateralframe articles via liquid painting, and drying the pair of paintedlateral frames via natural drying.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there isprovided a refrigerator includes a main body, a storage compartmentdefined in the main body, and a door pivotally rotatably mounted to themain body to open or close an open front side of the storagecompartment, wherein the door includes a reinforced glass panel defininga front surface of the door, a rear panel defining a rear surface of thedoor, an upper cap and a lower cap respectively defining an uppersurface and a lower surface of the door, a pair of lateral framesdefining both lateral surfaces of the door, an interior space defined bythe reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lowercap, and the pair of lateral frames, and an insulating foam charged intoan interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, therear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral framesto one another, and wherein each lateral frame includes a PVC plateformed via extrusion molding of PVC, a decorative film attached to asurface of the PVC plate to improve the outer appearance of the PVCplate without painting the PVC plate, and an adhesive material to attachthe PVC plate and the decorative film to each other.

The decorative film may be formed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) orpolyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP).

The decorative film may have a hair line pattern.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there isprovided a manufacturing method of a door for a refrigerator includespreparing a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door,a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door, an upper cap and alower cap respectively defining an upper surface and a lower surface ofthe door, and a pair of lateral frames defining both lateral surfaces ofthe door, provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the rearpanel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames, andfoaming an insulating material into an interior space of the doordefined by the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap,the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames, wherein the preparationof each lateral frame includes forming a PVC plate via extrusion moldingof PVC resin, and attaching a decorative film to a surface of the PVCplate.

The formation of the PVC plate via extrusion molding of PVC resin andthe attachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC platemay be successively implemented.

The attachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC platemay include introducing the PVC plate and the decorative film to awrapping roller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of embodiments will become apparent and morereadily appreciated from the following description of embodiments, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of arefrigerator according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of aleft door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of aright door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded plan view showing the configuration of the rightdoor for the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an assembled plan view showing the configuration of the rightdoor for the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an assembled plan view showing the configuration of a rightdoor for a refrigerator according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view explaining the sequence of manufacturing a lateralframe of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart explaining a manufacturing method of the door forthe refrigerator of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a view showing the configuration of a conventionalrefrigerator door.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of arefrigerator according to an embodiment. The refrigerator 10 accordingto an embodiment includes a main body 11, storage compartments 12 and 13defined in the main body 11 for food storage, and a cold air supplydevice (not shown) to supply cold air into the storage compartments 12and 13.

The main body 11 includes an outer shell defining the externalappearance of the refrigerator 10, an inner shell defining the storagecompartments 12 and 13, and an insulating material foamed between theouter shell and the inner shell for insulation of the storagecompartments 12 and 13.

The storage compartments 12 and 13 may be classified into the firststorage compartment 12 at the left side of a vertical partition 16 andthe second storage compartment 13 at the right side of the verticalpartition 16. The first storage compartment 12 and the second storagecompartment 13 may respectively serve as a freezing compartment and arefrigerating compartment. Shelves 14 may be placed in the storagecompartment 13 to support food placed thereon.

The storage compartments 12 and 13 may respectively have open frontsides for entrance/exit of food, and doors 21 and 22 may be pivotallyrotatably installed to the main body 11 to open or close the open frontsides respectively. The doors 21 and 22 may be pivotally rotatablyinstalled to the main body 11 using upper hinge members 15 and lowerhinge members (not shown). The left door 21 and the right door 22 mayindividually open or close the first storage compartment 12 and thesecond storage compartment 13.

The door 22 may be provided with a so-called home-bar chamber 24 forsimple storage of food to allow a user to put or take food into or fromthe chamber 24 without opening the door 22. Additionally, door guards 25for food storage may be installed to a rear surface of the door 22. Theconfiguration of the doors 21 and 22 will be described hereinafter.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of theleft door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an explodedperspective view showing the configuration of the right door for therefrigerator of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded plan view showing theconfiguration of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1, and FIG.5 is an assembled plan view showing the configuration of the right doorfor the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the left door 21 may include a front reinforcedglass panel 30, a rear panel 31, a pair of lateral frames 60 and 70, anupper cap 90, and a lower cap 91.

The reinforced glass panel 30 formed of reinforced glass has anapproximately rectangular shape to define a front surface of the doorhaving improved aesthetic appreciation and decoration. The rear panel 31has the same shape as the reinforced glass panel 30 to define a rearsurface of the door.

The rear panel 31 may be provided at a rear surface thereof with a pairof vertically elongated door guard mounts 32 for installation of thedoor guards (25, see FIG. 1). The rear panel 31 may be formed via vacuumforming.

The pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 defining the lateral surfaces ofthe left door 21 may include the first lateral frame 60 and the secondlateral frame 70. The second lateral frame 70 may be integrally providedwith a handle groove (80, see FIG. 4) for opening/closing of the leftdoor 21.

Each of the pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 may be formed into a singlepart via extrusion molding of synthetic resin, and more particularly, ofpolyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC has smaller weight than aluminum and lowmaterial and processing costs. Also, PVC ensures good insulation effectsof the storage compartment owing to lower thermal conductivity thanaluminum. Of course, PVC additionally provides sufficient rigidity toprevent deformation of the reinforced glass panel 30.

In the case in which the pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 is formed ofPVC, the entire left door 21 has no conductivity, which may preventelectric shock even upon ground failure of the refrigerator.

Further, the pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 formed of PVC may besubjected to liquid painting and natural drying for surface treatment.Liquid painting may be more conveniently applicable regardless of thekind of a painting object than metal painting, such as powder paintingor electrostatic painting, and has shorter process time. Natural dryinghas short process time and enables curing at a room temperature uponaddition of an acid catalyst, such as hydrochloric acid.

Accordingly, extrusion molding of the lateral frames 60 and 70 using PVCsynthetic resin may provide both lateral frames 60 and 70 withsufficient force to support the reinforced glass panel 30 as well asinsulation and stability, and may achieve reduction in cost and time.

The lateral frames 60 and 70 according to an embodiment may bemanufactured via extrusion molding, cutting, painting, and dryingprocesses, and may not require a coating process, having a simplifiedmanufacturing process.

The upper cap 90 and the lower cap 91 are respectively coupled to anupper end and a lower end of the left door 21 to hermetically seal aninterior space of the left door 21. The interior space (33, see FIG. 5)is charged with a foam (34, see FIG. 5) to ensure strong inter-couplingof respective elements.

Referring to FIG. 3, the right door 22 may include front reinforcedglass panels 50 and 51, a home-bar case 41, a home-bar door 40, a rearpanel 52, a pair of lateral frames 110 and 120, an upper cap 140, and alower cap 141.

The reinforced glass panels 50 and 51 may be vertically arranged withthe home-bar case 41 interposed therebetween. The home-bar door 40 maybe hinged to the home-bar case 41 to open or close an opening 44 of thehome-bar case 41.

The rear panel 52 may have a rear panel opening 54 corresponding to thehome-bar opening 44. The rear panel 52 may be provided at a rear surfacethereof with a pair of door guard mounts 53 for installation of the doorguards (25, see FIG. 1).

The pair of lateral frames 110 and 120, which defines lateral surfacesof the right door 22 and supports the reinforced glass panels 50 and 51,may be formed via extrusion molding of PVC resin, similar to the pair oflateral frames 60 and 70 of the left door 21. Also, the pair of lateralframes 110 and 120 may be subjected to liquid painting and naturaldrying upon surface treatment.

The upper cap 140 and the lower cap 141, which respectively define anupper surface and a lower surface of the right door 22, may be formed inthe same manner as the upper cap 90 and the lower cap 91 of the leftdoor 21.

The lateral frames 110 and 120 may also serve as conventionalintermediate members (5 and 6, see FIG. 9) that are interposed betweenthe reinforced glass panel and the lateral frames to improveshock-resistance and wear-resistance.

More specifically, differently from the related art in which theintermediate members (5 and 6, see FIG. 9) formed of ABS synthetic resinare interposed between the reinforced glass panel and the aluminumlateral frames to come into contact with the rear surface of thereinforced glass panel for improvement of shock-resistance andwear-resistance, according to an embodiment, the lateral frames 110 and120 may be formed of PVC synthetic resin, and thus may come into contactwith the reinforced glass panels 50 and 51.

This will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. Asshown, each of the first lateral frame 110 and the second lateral frame120 comes into contact with to two surfaces, i.e. a lateral surface anda rear surface, of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51 to support thereinforced glass panels 50 and 51. Although FIGS. 3 to 5 show the rightdoor 22, this is equal in the case of the left door 21.

The first lateral frame 110 includes a first support portion 61 having afirst support surface 63 to come into contact with a lateral surface 56of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51, and a second support portion 62having a second support surface 64 to come into contact with a rearsurface 58 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51. The first supportsurface 63 and the second support surface 64 may be flat.

The second lateral frame 120 includes a first support portion 65 havinga first support surface 67 to come into contact with a lateral surface57 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51, and a second support portion66 having a second support surface 68 to come into contact with the rearsurface 58 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51. The first supportsurface 67 and the second support surface 68 may be flat.

As such, the first lateral frame 110 and the second lateral frame 120come into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panelwithout requiring the additional intermediate members (5 and 6, see FIG.9). This reduces the number of constituent elements of the doors 21 and22, resulting in enhanced manufacturing efficiency and costs.

The first support portions 61 and 65 that come into contact with thelateral surfaces 56 and 67 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51 mayprotrude farther forward than the second support portions 62 and 66 thatcome into contact with the rear surface 58 of the reinforced glass panel50 or 51.

The first support portions 61 and 65 may protrude farther forward thanthe second support portions 62 and 66 by a length equal to or greaterthan the thickness of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51, i.e. thelength of the lateral surfaces 56 and 57.

With this configuration, the lateral surfaces 56 and 57 of thereinforced glass panel 50 or 51 are hidden by the first support portions61 and 65 of the lateral frames 110 and 120 so as not to be exposed tothe outside, resulting in improvement in aesthetics of the door.

The doors 21 and 22 may be manufactured as follows. First, thereinforced glass panels 30, 50 and 51, the rear panels 31 and 52, thepairs of upper and lower caps 90, 91, 140 and 141, and the pairs oflateral frames 60, 70, 110 and 120 are prepared.

The pairs of lateral frames 60, 70, 110 and 120 may be formed byextrusion molding PVC synthetic resin, and sequentially painting andnatural drying the resulting extruded article.

Thereafter, the reinforced glass panels 30, 50 and 51, the rear panels31 and 52, the pairs of upper and lower caps 90, 91, 140 and 141, andthe pairs of lateral frames 60, 70, 110 and 120 are provisionally fixedusing an adhesive material, such as an adhesive tape, and thereafter arefirmly fixed to one another using adhesion of an insulating materialfoamed in the interior spaces defined therebetween.

FIG. 6 is an assembled plan view showing the configuration of the rightdoor for a refrigerator according to an embodiment, FIG. 7 is a viewexplaining the sequence of manufacturing the lateral frame of the rightdoor for the refrigerator of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a flowchartexplaining a manufacturing method of the door for the refrigerator ofFIG. 6.

In the following description, the same elements as those of therefrigerator according to the previously described embodiment aredesignated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereofwill be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the door for the refrigerator according to thepresent embodiment may include the reinforced glass panels 50 and 51defining a front surface of the door, the rear panel 52 defining a rearsurface of the door, upper and lower caps defining upper and lowersurfaces of the door, a pair of lateral frames 210 and 220 defininglateral surfaces of the door, and an insulating foam 34 to intercouplethe respective elements.

The lateral frames 210 and 220 may respectively include PCV plates 211and 221 formed via extrusion molding of PVC resin, and decorative films213 and 223 attached to outer surfaces of the PVC plates 211 and 221.Adhesive materials 212 and 222 may be interposed between the PVC plates211 and 221 and the decorative films 213 and 223 to attach thedecorative films 213 and 223 to the PVC plates 211 and 221.

That is, the lateral frames 210 and 220 for the refrigerator accordingto the present embodiment may be manufactured by extrusion molding PVCresin to form the PVC plates 211 and 221, and attaching the decorativefilms 213 and 223 to the PVC plates 213 and 223 instead of paintingsurfaces of the PVC plates.

This may provide the lateral frames 210 and 220 with a variety ofdesigns that may be impossible to obtain via painting. For example, asshown in FIG. 7, by attaching the decorative films 213 and 223 having ahair line pattern to the PVC plate 211 and 221, the lateral frames 210and 220 may have a hair line pattern and exhibit the same texture asaluminum. Of course, the decorative films 213 and 223 may have variouspatterns and colors except for the line pattern.

Also, attaching the decorative films 213 and 223 to the PVC plates 211and 221 have a shorter process time than painting and drying the PVCplates 211 and 221, resulting in reduction in manufacturing time.

Referring to FIG. 7, the PVC plates 211 and the decorative films 231 areintroduced into and attached to each other by a wrapping device. Thewrapping device may include transfer rollers 240 to transfer the PVCplate 211, a decorative film input member 250 to introduce thedecorative film 213, and a wrapping roller 260 to attach the PVC plate211 and the decorative film 213 to each other. In this case, before thedecorative film 231 reaches the wrapping roller 260, the adhesivematerial 212 may be applied to one surface of the decorative film 231.The wrapping roller 260 ensures that the decorative film 231 is adheredto the surface of the PVC plate 211 without a risk of separation.

In this case, the transfer roller 240 may directly transfer the extrudedPVC plate 211 from an extruder 230 to the wrapping roller 250. That is,extrusion molding of the PVC plate 211 using PVC resin and attaching thedecorative film 213 to the surface of the PVC plate 211 may besuccessively implemented in a single line. This may result in furtherreduction in manufacturing time.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the door for the refrigeratoraccording to the secondly described embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 8.

First, the reinforced glass panel(s) 30; 50 and 51 defining the frontsurface of the door is prepared (310). Also, the rear panel 31; 52defining the rear surface of the door is prepared (320). The upper cap90; 140 and the lower cap 91; 141 defining the upper and lower surfacesof the door are prepared (330).

Then, the lateral frames 210 and 220 defining the lateral surfaces ofthe door are prepared (340). In this case, the lateral frames 210 and220 may be formed by forming the PVC plates 211 and 221 using PVC resin(350) and attaching the decorative films 213 and 223 to the surfaces ofthe PVC plates 211 and 221 (360).

Next, the reinforced glass panel(s) 30; 50 and 51, the rear panel 31;52, the upper cap 90; 140, the lower cap; 91 and 141, and the lateralframes 210 and 220 are provisionally assembled (370).

Next, the insulating foam 34 is charged into the interior space 33defined by the reinforced glass panel(s) 30; 50 and 51, the rear panel31; 52, the upper cap 90; 140, the lower cap; 91 and 141, and thelateral frames 210 and 220 (380). The reinforced glass panel(s) 30; 50and 51, the rear panel 31; 52, the upper cap 90; 140, the lower cap; 91and 141, and the lateral frames 210 and 220 may be firmly adhered to oneanother with adhesive force of the insulating foam 34.

As is apparent from the above description, according to an embodiment, adoor for a refrigerator achieves reduction in material and processingcosts, which may reduce the price of the refrigerator.

Also, the number of constituent elements of the door is reduced,resulting in enhanced manufacturing efficiency and costs.

Also, the weight of the door may be reduced.

Also, the door may be realized to have various surface textures andcolors.

Also, time consumed for surface treatment including painting and dryingmay be reduced.

Also, the door has no conductor, which makes an earth unnecessary.

Also, lateral frames of the door are prepared by simply cutting andpainting an extruded PVC article, which provides a simplifiedmanufacturing process.

Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would beappreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made inembodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of thepresent disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator comprising: a main body; a storagecompartment defined in the main body; and a door pivotally rotatablymounted to the main body to open or close a front side of the storagecompartment, wherein the door includes: a reinforced glass paneldefining a front surface of the door; a pair of lateral frames tosupport the reinforced glass panel; a rear panel defining a rear surfaceof the door; a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap; anda foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple thereinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, andthe pair of caps to one another, wherein each of the pair of lateralframes comes into contact with two surfaces including a lateral surfaceand a rear surface of the reinforced glass panel to support thereinforced glass panel, and wherein each of the pair of lateral framesis formed via extrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) syntheticresin and is painted via liquid painting.
 2. The refrigerator accordingto claim 1, wherein the pair of lateral frames is subjected to naturaldrying after completion of painting.
 3. The refrigerator according toclaim 1, wherein each of the pair of lateral frames includes a firstsupport portion coming into contact with the lateral surface of thereinforced glass panel and a second support portion coming into contactwith the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel.
 4. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 3, wherein the first support portion includes a firstsupport surface coming into contact with the lateral surface of thereinforced glass panel, and the second support portion includes a secondsupport surface coming into contact with the rear surface of thereinforced glass panel.
 5. The refrigerator according to claim 4,wherein the first support surface and the second support surface areflat.
 6. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the firstsupport portion protrudes farther forward than the second supportportion.
 7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the firstsupport portion protrudes farther than the second support portion atleast by a length of the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel,to prevent the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel from beingexposed to the outside.
 8. The refrigerator according to claim 1,wherein each of the pair of lateral frames takes the form of a singlepart.
 9. A refrigerator comprising: a main body; a storage compartmentdefined in the main body; and a door pivotally rotatably mounted to themain body to open or close a front side of the storage compartment,wherein the door includes: a reinforced glass panel defining a frontsurface of the door; a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforcedglass panel; a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door; a pair ofcaps including an upper cap and a lower cap; and a foam charged into aninterior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, thepair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps to oneanother, and wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is formed into asingle part via extrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) syntheticresin.
 10. The refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein each of thepair of lateral frames is painted via liquid painting.
 11. Therefrigerator according to claim 10, wherein each of the pair of lateralframes is subjected to natural drying after completion of painting. 12.A method of manufacturing a door for a refrigerator, the methodcomprising: preparing a reinforced glass panel, a rear panel, and a pairof caps; preparing a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforcedglass panel; provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the pairof lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps; and foaming aninsulating material into an interior space of the door to fix thereinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, andthe pair of caps, wherein the preparation of the pair of lateral framesincludes: forming a pair of extruded lateral frame articles viaextrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthetic resin; paintingthe pair of extruded lateral frame articles via liquid painting; anddrying the pair of painted lateral frames via natural drying.
 13. Arefrigerator comprising: a main body; a storage compartment defined inthe main body; and a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main bodyto open or close a front side of the storage compartment, wherein thedoor includes: a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of thedoor; a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door; an upper cap anda lower cap respectively defining an upper surface and a lower surfaceof the door; a pair of lateral frames defining both lateral surfaces ofthe door; an interior space defined by the reinforced glass panel, therear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateralframes; and an insulating foam charged into an interior space of thedoor to couple the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the uppercap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames to one another, andwherein each lateral frame includes a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plateformed via extrusion molding of PVC, a decorative film attached to asurface of the PVC plate to improve the outer appearance of the PVCplate without painting the PVC plate, and an adhesive material to attachthe PVC plate and the decorative film to each other.
 14. Therefrigerator according to claim 13, wherein the decorative film isformed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). 15.The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein the decorative film hasa hair line pattern.
 16. A method of manufacturing a door for arefrigerator, the method comprising: preparing a reinforced glass paneldefining a front surface of the door, a rear panel defining a rearsurface of the door, an upper cap and a lower cap respectively definingan upper surface and a lower surface of the door, and a pair of lateralframes defining both lateral surfaces of the door; provisionally fixingthe reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lowercap, and the pair of lateral frames; and foaming an insulating materialinto an interior space of the door defined by the reinforced glasspanel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair oflateral frames; wherein the preparation of each lateral frame includes:forming a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plate via extrusion molding of PVCresin; and attaching a decorative film to a surface of the PVC plate.17. The manufacturing method according to claim 16, wherein theformation of the PVC plate via extrusion molding of PVC resin and theattachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC plate aresuccessively implemented.
 18. The manufacturing method according toclaim 16, wherein the attachment of the decorative film to the surfaceof the PVC plate includes introducing the PVC plate and the decorativefilm to a wrapping roller.